Deadly attack stokes Iraq pilgrimage fears

KARBALA, Iraq (AFP) – A deadly mortar attack Friday near the Iraqi city of Karbala stoked security concerns as millions of Shiite pilgrims gathered for one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.

“There were one person killed and four wounded when mortar rounds hit an area on the western side of the city” shortly after midnight, a police colonel said.

“They crashed into an area called Souk al-Basra, around seven kilometres from the city centre,” he said, adding the victims were residents and not pilgrims.

A medical source in the holy city of Karbala confirmed the toll.

Record numbers of Shiite faithful have been converging on Karbala from across Iraq and other countries for Arbaeen, which on Saturday will mark the end of a 40-day period of mourning following the anniversary of Imam Hussein’s death.

Hussein is one of the most revered figures for Shiites, who are the largest community in Iraq and the overwhelming majority in neighbouring Iran.

Shiites gather outside the Imam Hussein shrine on December 11 in the central Iraqi city of Karbala in preparation for the the Arbaeen religious festival. A deadly mortar attack Friday near the Iraqi city of Kar-bala stoked security concerns as millions of Shiite pilgrims gathered for one of the largest religious gather-ings in the world. – AFP

Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said on Thursday that more than 17 million pilgrims had come to Karbala for Arbaeen, which in a normal year is already considered one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.

The Karbala governor has said this year’s was the biggest on record.

This year’s pilgrimage has taken on a political dimension as it is the first since the devastating offensive the Islamic State (IS) group launched in Iraq in June.

The organisation considers Shiites to be heretics and has made targeting the community one of its main objectives.

Millions of faithful have for days been converging on the holy city where Hussein was killed in battle and beheaded in 680 AD, entire families trekking for days on the roads and sleeping in the open.

Central Baghdad has been in lockdown mode much of the week as authorities restricted access and movement in order to avoid a complete logjam and minimise the risks of major bomb attacks.

Three people were killed and four wounded earlier this week, according to security and medical sources, when a bomb went off in northeastern Baghdad near one of the thousands of tents set up to serve food and beverages to marching pilgrims.

However, given how exposed the pilgrims are and what a prime target they are for IS fighters, very few incidents have been reported so far.

Iraqi officials have stressed how crucial a recent military victory against the militants in the Jurf al-Sakhr area has been in making the pilgrimage possible.